Tillage is an operation applied prior to sowing to improve soil conditions for optimal crop emergence and yield. Various types of implements are currently employed to loosen, invert, and mix the soil, modify the surface configuration, change aggregate size, incorporate materials (fertilizers, manure, crop residues, etc.), eradicate weeds, and form openings for seed placement according to the soil properties. Tillage implements provide mechanical manipulation of soil to achieve a desired seedbed and to provide an optimum environment for seed germination and plant growth. The tillage implements include self-propelled and heavy equipment such as crawler tractors with heavy duty plows and dozers, high horsepower tractors with dozing and hoeing attachments, harrows, discs, scrapers, ditchers, chisel plows, subsoilers, terracers and levelers etc.
Certain tillage implements form a compacted layer at the base of the plow and cause the blockage of soil pores which hinder drainage. Additionally, these and other implements have been shown to inhibit soil biological activity due to the high degree of soil disturbance and lack of residues on the soil surface. Negating these effects requires time consuming efforts to achieve effective tilling of the soil.
Some tillage implements provide tilling/plowing of the soil to provide a seedbed for sowing/planting of different crops. However, even though these implements provide tilling, they do not include an effective leveling system to move/drag earth for improving drainage and to provide improved erosion control.
Most of the conventional tillage implements require numerous pieces of equipment which result in high operational and maintenance costs. Moreover, they cause excessive soil compaction and water loss from the soil. In addition, the conventional tillage implements are relatively inefficient and consume large amounts of fuel.
Conventional tillage implements known in the art generally include rotary discs with adjustable angles to till the soil and a scraper/bucket to move/scrap the soil. However, the downside to these implements is that they lack the ability to remove deep ruts created by the wheels of other field equipment (i.e. a center pivot irrigation system).
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for a pull type leveling and tillage implement which utilizes a rolling attachment to move/drag/level earth for improving drainage and erosion control.